Lanscaping with gravel: what are the benefits?

Gravel, crushed stone and other ground cover rocks gain higher and higher popularity as the landscaping materials, and there’re a few reasons behind that trend.

While grass is the most popular and the most favored landscaping option for traditional backyards, the fact that it’s extremely high maintenance and requires a lot of watering, which is not particularly sustainable for areas that experience severe droughts during summertime, makes some people seriously consider replacing most of their green backyard lawns with gravel. Gravel and crushed stones make a really affordable, as well as the natural-looking solution for patios, walkways, work areas and garden paths.

Why to landscape with gravel

The first reason that speaks for the gravel’s benefits is the fact that’s relatively low maintenance. Obviously, the rocks aren’t alive, so you don’t need to care for the rock-based backyard areas as much as for the alive ground covers, which require regular watering, trimming, fertilizing, winterizing, etc.

Even though loose gravel areas may have to be weeded and raked every once in a while, they still consume a lot less maintenance time, effort and financial resources than spaced covered with plants, or even organic landscaping materials. The latter, after a long exposure to the outdoor weather conditions, often get damaged and decomposed, causing the need for replacement. That’s just an unnecessary waste of money you may totally avoid by opting for gravel.

On top of that, most rock-covered areas are built the way that they provide quite an effective drainage. Thus, even if you don’t want to commit to the gravel all over your backyard, you may totally spread a little bit of it around the backyard plants that grow better when the proper drainage is ensured.

Gravel is the kind of patio or walkway material a lot of landscaping contractors use due to its natural appearance, that blends into gardens, backyards and broader landscapes in the more laid-back style a lot better than concrete or stone pavers. It just looks like it belongs there.

Additionally, gravel landscape is said to be among the recent home improvement trends that will prevail in 2017 among people, who live in the warmer states, where it gets quite hot and dry in summer, and the lawn care services and maintenance get not only really expensive, but also practically impossible due to the water use restrictions. Gravel doesn’t need to be watered. In fact, if you plant a few shrubs or other heat-resistant plants at the gravel-covered area, the stones will help preserve the soil’s moisture a lot longer, helping the greenery withstand critically high temperatures.

Despite the common misconception, gravel is quite versatile. It comes in different colors, finishes and rock sizes. And, different path/patio laying techniques allow to arrange it in different patterns, making your walkways and backyard patios far from ordinary and boring. When combined with bricks, stepping stones, and other pavers, gravel contributes to the visual interest and diversity of the landscape. You may also plant a few low-growing sedum plants on the gravel landscape areas to make them more appealing and alive.

Gravel is an effective mean of weed protection, used in many gardens and backyards, even though a few stubborn weeds might break through it. But, the number of those can’t be compared to the de-weeding job one has to do on the lawn.

Organic and plant ground covers also cause a very frustrating issue – bug infestation. Wood chips and grass mulch attracts a lot of insects, mainly ants. Those are not quite destructive to the landscape. Once they learn the way to your backyard, they won’t take too long to find the quick road to your house. Gravel and other similar materials will help you prevent the insect problem.

It’s also a great option for those, who’d like their landscaping project to stay within a moderate budget, as well as avoid major ground-breaking construction. The material is inexpensive on its own, and, when the gravel is involved, landscaping services won’t cost as much as the services of masonry or concrete contractors. In fact, it doesn’t take too many skills to construct a gravel walkway or even patio, thus you may totally try to do that as your summer DIY project.

Lastly, a lot of contemporary landscapes, that thrive to combine the pleasant look and sustainability, often feature a well-thought combination of gravel, grass, stepping stone and wood chip materials, which makes the garden quite artsy, but still very sustainable.

So, if you’d like to incorporate gravel into your landscape, make sure to contact local landscapers and outdoor contractors from HireRush.com and start a big transformation of your backyard/landscape.

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